Delivering an Executive Search to Appoint a Transformational Leader for a Public Sector Education Department
The Brief
Future Leadership™ was engaged by the this public sector entity to appoint a new Director General of Education following the resignation of the previous incumbent. The appointment was critical to ensure continuity of strategic leadership and to drive system-wide improvement across the Department.
The Department is the second largest in this geography, overseeing more than 800 geographically and functionally distributed school sites. The strategic environment included a legacy of autonomy through the Independent Public Schools model, workforce shortages, and a post-COVID cultural disconnect between staff and departmental leadership. The organisation required a leader with gravitas, strategic foresight, and the ability to unify stakeholders around a future-focused vision.
This concurrent appointment also included the role of Chief Executive Officer and Registrar of the School Curriculum and Standards Board. The successful candidate would be responsible for the delivery of quality public education across the state, regulation and funding of Catholic and Independent schools, and oversight of curriculum, assessment, standards and reporting for all schools. The role demanded a leader capable of navigating transformational change, improving student achievement, supporting Aboriginal student success, and enhancing mental health and wellbeing outcomes. A strong focus on teaching quality and system-wide improvement was essential.
Candidate net Promote Score
Future Leadership combines truly personalised relationships with innovative technology solutions to ensure an approachable and efficient process for all our Net Promoter Score across clients, successful candidates and unsuccessful candidates is well above industry standard.
Candidates supported every year
We maintain genuine relationships with past candidates and continue to support them with leadership solutions long term, after they land their role.
Senior Women Appointed since 2002
Over half of the executive search assignments undertaken by our team have resulted in the appointment of outstanding female or LGBTQI+ leaders to high profile roles.
Candidate Retention Rate for 12 months since 2002
Our thorough briefing process and ability to engage passive candidates mean that we go to great lengths to find the right person for the role – long term!
The Process
Future Leadership™ undertook a comprehensive search process tailored to the organisation’s needs.
Key steps included:
- Briefing and Strategy Development: Engaged with the Public Sector Commissioner and key stakeholders to understand the strategic priorities, operating environment, and desired capabilities for the role.
- Search Strategy and Capability Mapping: Delivered a Search Strategy document outlining contextual insights, selected capabilities from the Future Leadership Capability Framework, and a full project timeline.
- Targeted Candidate Search: Activated referral networks and outreach to over 60 qualified contacts, supported by a print and online media campaign across Jobs WA, LinkedIn, and the West Australian.
- Candidate Assessment: All internal candidates were assessed against selection criteria, with shortlisted candidates undergoing psychometric assessments and panel interviews.
- Final Evaluation and Appointment Support: Conducted reference checks and supported contract negotiation with the successful candidate.
Emerging Capabilities
Strategy and Purpose
Develops and leads strategy for the function/organisation, taking a broad and long-term perspective. Understands and considers context. Communicates and gains buy-in to the function/organisation goals, direction and vision, promoting change initiatives.
Initiative and Drive
Identifies and implements improvements to the organisation, delivers high quality work, sets and achieves short- and long-term goals for both personal and work outcomes. Develops and delivers organisational change initiatives.
Culture and Engagement
Fosters a positive culture, creating a sense of belonging and inclusiveness. Creates an environment that encourages diverse perspectives and facilitates a psychologically safe environment.
Stakeholder Relations
Establishes rapport with stakeholders, builds and sustains trusted and collaborative relationships. Identifies and draws on relevant and diverse perspectives and integrates them to support productive interactions.
Systems Thinking
Views situations in their entirety, understanding all the parts at play. Identifies the interconnected factors and how they influence each other, impacting the whole system. Takes a strategic perspective.
Critical Thinking
Gathers and examines different data points, testing for assumptions and gaps in logic; reframes problems and presents well-reasoned insights considering diverse perspectives. Analyses, interprets and objectively evaluates information enabling judgements.
The Outcome
The process resulted in the appointment of a highly experienced public sector executive with over two decades of leadership across diverse government agencies, including education, finance, and community services.
With a strong foundation in corporate governance, financial management, and strategic planning, the appointee has successfully led large teams and managed significant budgets and infrastructure portfolios. Their career highlights include driving major organisational reforms, implementing complex projects such as state-wide education initiatives and digital transformation, and leading responses to critical challenges like COVID-19.
Recognised for integrity, resilience, and collaborative leadership, the candidate excels in stakeholder engagement, capability building, and delivering improved outcomes for communities. Their achievements are underpinned by a commitment to continuous improvement, innovation, and public service values positioning them as an ideal candidate to lead the Department into its next phase of strategic development.
